Teresa Bird

Bruce Winfield

Gazette staff

BROUGHTON ARCHIPELAGO - An unknown number of Atlantic salmon have escaped from a fish farm in the Broughton Archipelago, said Marine Harvest Canada.

The Atlantics escaped from the company’s Port Elizabeth site, at the south end of Gilford Island, Oct. 21.

The loss was discovered after scuba divers found several holes in two pens while removing fish which had died as a result of low oxygen levels, said a company press release.

Prevention methods to eliminate further escape are in place, the company said, and this incident has been reported to regulators. The cause of the holes remains under investigation, but may be related to the fish removal process.

“This is something that has to be taken seriously,” said Clare Backman, environmental relations director for MHC. “There will be a full investigation and we will make changes as required to prevent this from happening again.”

The exact number lost will not be known until those remaining in nets are counted, said Marine Harvest, but the company currently estimates that 40,000 Atlantics escaped.

Some of those have been recovered. The company sent a recovery ship to catch those it could in the first 48 hours after the escape, said Backman.

“They recovered 1,073,” said Backman. “That doesn’t sound like much ... but actually it is quite a large number for a recovery. Obviously it was worthwhile.”

The news of the escape brought quick reaction from the Living Oceans Society in Sointula, which said the huge salmon farm escape reinforces the urgent need for action on closed containment.

“We knew something was up when I received a call this morning from a gillnetter who’d been fishing north of Malcolm Island and catching numerous Atlantic salmon,” said Will Soltau, salmon farm campaign coordinator for LOS. “This demonstrates once again the urgent need to transition all open net-cage farms to closed containment systems,” Soltau continued. “This will be a major financial loss to the company and another blow to the health of our marine ecosystems and wild salmon populations. Closed containment could have prevented both.”

Backman said he expects the threat to wild stocks from the Atlantic salmon to be minimal.

“These were very healthy fish, they were not carrying any disease,” said Backman of the 10-pound fish. “And they are nowhere near being ready to spawn.”

Backman said in the past most escaped Atlantic salmon are found with empty stomachs, they don’t survive.

“However we do know that some survive because small numbers have returned to some rivers,” said Backman. “There is potential for some to survive.”

First Nations in the area are also concerned about the impact of the escape.

“There are serious questions of disease, overstocking of net-pens, adequacy of emergency response plans and also follow up investigation and reporting,” said Chief Bob Chamberlin of the Kwicksutaineuk Ah-kwa-mish First Nation. “Even though Marine Harvest has agreed to let Musgamagw-Tsawataineuk Tribal Council staff question Marine Harvest staff, we remain skeptical and anticipate a party line being towed to safeguard employment.”

The Kwicksutaineuk Ah-kwa-mish First Nation are calling on the provincial government to publically state there will be no expansions of fish farm tenures and capacity leading up to Fisheries and Oceans Canada assuming control of the fish farm industry.